Pasadena’s A Noise Within celebrates its 25th year (and its fifth in Pasadena, after 20 years in Glendale) with a particularly effective and timely rendition of Shakespeare’s epic tragedy, King Lear. Their choice to dress the players in 1940s era costume makes the action more immediate, contemporary, and unflinchingly political, bringing to mind the Netflix …

Walking in to Doctor Strange, I didn’t know what to expect. All I really knew about him was from that one animated movie from 2007 and that he and Tony Stark are “awesome facial hair bros.” That being said, Doctor Strange is a movie that, while falling short plot-wise, was incredible to watch. With astounding special effects and sheer, breathtaking color, I found that I could not look away.

Bridge of Spies is a look back at a time of political fear and paranoia, and documents the impact it had on ordinary people in America, from children preparing for global nuclear war to acts of terror perpetrated against those seen as “helping the commies.” We’ve created a typical Mid-Century suburban dinner to accompany the film.

Good articles have been written about why it’s okay to grieve for someone you’ve never met, a favorite actor or singer, for example. It’s natural when music, or art of any kind, profoundly affects us, speaks to our souls, and it’s okay to grieve the artist who sparked those feelings. This week we’ve listened to David Bowie’s music online and on vinyl. Our son played “Moonage Daydream” at an open mic. Our youngest daughter posted a photo of herself from her graduation shoot.

Ant-Man was a hugely popular entry in Marvel’s “Phase 2” series, adding more comedy to the mix, primarily in the brilliant casting of Paul Rudd as the hero and the hilarious Michael Pena as his buddy Luis. There’s a scene fairly early on where Luis shows his concern for his little band of criminal friends by preparing a meal for them.

I’ve been experimenting with bath salts this year. I’ve sent them to my daughters and friends for a variety of occasions. The massage therapist at my chiropractor’s office has encouraged me to spend more time soaking away my stress and stiffness. Since both of my daughters will be home for the holidays I purchased approximately a dozen different oils and we intend to spend a day mixing up new batches that they can take home.

We’re starting a new feature here at BCBT: Dinner and a DVD. Every so often, we’ll pick a movie and pair it with an appropriate meal, appetizer, snack or dessert. To kick things off, we decided to start with some Christmas classics.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Loren Roberts, winner of the Kylo Ren figure! Recently, I attended a press day for Star Wars: The Force Awakens; in addition to the press panel at which 100+ bloggers and reporters asked questions of the cast, there were a lot of product demos, photo ops and swag to take home. …